The draft amendment¹ to the Seed Law calls for stricter supervision² on the use of GM plant seeds.

It also stipulates³ that information on GM seeds should be publicized in a timely manner.

Enterprises that produce seeds of GM plants are also required to be licensed⁴ by the agricultural and forestry⁵ departments of the State Council.

Liu Zhenwei, vice⁶-chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of China's top legislature, explains the proposed articles.

"To respond to the consumers' concern over the safety of genetically⁷ modified products, the draft states that the selection, trials, approvals and promotion⁸ of genetically modified plant seeds should undergo safety evaluations⁹, and be subjected to strict safety control measures."

The amendment also touches upon seed business involving foreign companies.

Seed research and use involving foreign individuals, enterprises and other institutions are subject to approvals by the authority.

Li Liqiu, secretary general of China National Seed Association, says the regulatory move is a bid to safeguard the quality of China's seed resources.

"We should protect the quality of seed resources from a legal perspective. Foreigners should not be allowed to randomly¹⁰ collect seeds, and cooperation with Chinese enterprises also needs approval. Some scientific researchers have weak awareness¹¹ in this regard and lose the resources in cooperation. The law does not contain detailed¹² rules in the past, and the new regulation will be a very effective measure to protect seed resources."

Meanwhile, China's lawmakers are emphasizing new varieties of plants, encouraging innovation and cracking down counterfeits¹⁴ in the draft amendment.

As the seed industry is a high-technology industry, insiders believe that intellectual property is the core to the development of this sector¹⁵.

Lu Hong, CEO of a seed company, Beijing Golden Maker¹³, expressed his hope for enhancing legal protection and intellectual property in the seed industry.

"If the seed variety is of good quality, the development will be very fast, and vice versa. The previous Seed Law covers some areas, but there are still some ambiguous regulations or insufficient¹⁶ legal protection. The revised law shows an obvious improvement for intellectual property, and we regard it as very good news."

This is the first amendment to the Seed Law since 15 years ago.